Ha-ha! were you thinking I was smoking something to call <$500 cheap?
Here is why <$500 is CHEAP AS Bro'!
As of today NZD500 = USD286!!! That's right the <$500 I'm talking about is $500 New Zealand dollars. Or to put it in Sony's terms JPY27755
Here's the catch:
It was only available for 1 day, with limited numbers, on a website called "one day 3 deals"...and I missed it!!!
A friend who is not into video games at all (though her husband has a 360) was checking the site 1 hour after the PS3s went up for sale and they were all sold out. I was on holiday that day and missed it completely.
Likelihood is that there were only 100 of them, or even less, on offer.
For comparison purposes the 360 Elite sells here for $599 (USD342), the Wii for $495. This means those one time offer PS3s were being sold for less than the price of the Wii!
So what you say? What has this got to do with the rest of the world? The implication, I think, is that a WW PS3 price cut can't be that far away. Multinationals sometimes test the pricing waters here, because we are such a small market it means they can test things out without standing to lose huge amounts of money, and what does well here is a reasonable predictor of what will do well in the big western markets.
No way will Sony drop the normal retail price of the PS3 to below $500 here. It'll be more like $650 (USD372) down from $799 (USD457). However we have retailer bundles and specials right now for things like KZ2 bundle with HDMI cable for $745, or without HDMI cable for $737. And an Easter special a couple of weeks ago of $699. So at a max retail price of $650 I'd expect to see bundles and specials going for ~/< $600.
When was the last time Sony publicly admitted to making a loss on every PS3 console sold? The most recent press releases I've seen in which Sony scuttles rumours of price reductions says things like "we are focussed on ekeing out a profit". Sure it's not good PR to say "we are still losing money on every console we make" but OTOH if they came out and said it people would tone down their insistent calls for a price drop. I reckon calls for a price drop creates the expectation of a price drop, and thus tends to slow down sales. Look at me, I'm waiting as long as humanly possible for a price drop, yet I'm comitted to buying a PS3. If I am waiting how many other committed buyers are also waiting? However, if Sony came out and said categorically there will be no PS3 price drop this FY because the console is still making a loss, I'd go out and get my PS3 because I can't hold off until next FY or beyond. Others will still hold off until the inevitable price drop, a certain amount of pressure would be released. The price deal I'm looking for is PS3 + HDMI cable + 2 games for <$700 (ususally it's a choice of 2 platrinum titles from a list of 6, usually includes Uncharted, R&C, Motor Storm, Resistance, and a couple of others). The best I've found so far is $750.
“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell
"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."
Jimi Hendrix
